Ratification of India, Japan civil nuclear deal may face further delay

The ratification of India-Japan Civil Nuclear deal is likely to be delayed further.

“It is unlikely that the Diet (wich is likely to meet for a special session end of next month) will take up the India-Japan Civil Nuclear deal for ratification. There are still some issues that need to be discussed,” a top official, involved in the talks, told BusinessLine .

The Diet had its session last in June. However, this year it will be meeting once again, which is also known as an extraordinary session from September 26.

However, like last time, it seems even in this session the nuclear deal with India will not go through due to “domestic pressure and compulsions”, according to the official. Once the Diet ratifies the deal, the deal will be officially signed.

According to sources, Japan has not been able to build a support for the deal within its political sections, as there are apprehensions that export of Japanese nuclear technology might get routed for military purposes.

There are also “strong concerns” on the Japanese side regarding nuclear cooperation because India is still not a signatory to nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The India-Japan Civil Nuclear deal had been under discussion for over six years now. Last year, Japan and India declared themselves as special strategic partners during the visit of their Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to India in December.

During the visit both sides signed a memorandum – Agreement on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy – under which both sides vowed to sign the deal post the conclusion of “technical details” that included “necessary internal procedures.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last pushed for the ratification of the deal when he met Abe in Washington in April during the Nuclear Summit.

Meanwhile, India is also concerned with the fact that technical negotiations on the deal might take a backseat as the Japanese Cabinet has undergone a major reshuffle. Japan now has a new Defence Minister Tomomi Inada, who is known to be having anti-nuclear agenda.

“These are political processes and these take time. While India may be in a hurry to sign the deal for energy security purposes, there is not much interest in the Japanese side to hurry through the process. Also, we must remember that nuclear power plants have long gestation so India is not wrong if it is pushing for it,” said Nandan Unnikrishnan, Vice President and Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation.

India plans to generate 25 per cent of electricity from nuclear power by 2050.

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